Wooster girls come a long way in a week

Just when things were looking up, the Wooster Brats had to call it a season.

Such is life, though, on the travel softball circuit.

One week after leaving the Loudonville 18-and-under Invitational winless in three games, the Brats showed marked improvement at the Maumee Fastpitch Summer Classic this past weekend.

Playing in the 16-and-under bracket, the Brats advanced from pool play into the final 16 teams Sunday, where they were dealt a 10-0, 5-inning setback courtesy of the Lady Lasers to finish the weekend at 2-3.

But it was what transpired in the Brats' first four games, where they went 2-2, that had coach Dan Wyand and the players already looking forward to next summer.

"The only bad thing about the whole weekend was that the season was over for the girls after Sunday," said Wyand, who assists the Wooster High varsity baseball team during the spring. "They came up to me afterward and talked about how they wanted to keep playing. They bonded well this weekend, but when it was time to play, they buckled down and did the job.

"On Sunday there were a lot of tears flowing, but I told them they had nothing to be ashamed of with their performance. They did a great job considering they had a baseball coach helping coach them, and I was learning on the job. I thought they did a fantastic job all summer."

The weekend tournament featured 40 teams in Wooster's age bracket and 105 teams total from assorted locales like Missouri, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois.

"The big thing for us was that we were matched up against teams our own age," said Wyand. "The week before we were playing against girls that were either in college or were headed to college."

Wooster's weekend started strong on Friday, as it hung a 12-1 loss on the Elyria Pride in pool play. In their second game, however, the Brats suffered a 8-6 loss to the Ohio Express to fall to 1-1.

"We came out hitting the first game," said Wyand. "In the second game I made a coaching mistake and started a pitcher that usually relieves and she gave up six runs in the first inning. We dug ourselves a hole, but we still only lost 8-6.

"We scored three or four runs in the sixth inning, but we ran out of time. They had a 1-hour, 40-minute time limit on the games, so we only were able to play six innings instead of seven."

That loss put the Brats in a must-win situation when they began play Saturday against the Ohio Emeralds. The resulting 6-1 victory was undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend for Wyand.

"We had to win that game if we wanted to play on Sunday," he said, "and we just came out and played a very good game, both offensively and defensively.

"We talked before that game and I told the girls that I never ask my players to do anything for me personally. But I asked them to pick me up that day because the day before I made some mistakes that cost us a game. If we didn't win that first game, then we wouldn't play on Sunday. They went out there, did a great job and picked me up."

With a Sunday berth secured, Wooster played tough against the top team in its bracket, the Indy Tradition, before falling 6-4.

"(Indy) had blown everyone in the pool away by scores of like 12-1, 11-1 and 15-1," said Wyand. "We lost to them 6-4, and it was a tie game going into the seventh before they scored two runs to win it."

Pitcher Megan Ulbright picked up both wins for the Brats, while Wyand praised a number of Wooster's hitters."Megan struck out 12 and walked just two in the our first four games," said Wyand. "You just can't say enough about the girl. She just goes out there and competes. She doesn't walk anyone and she just gives her team a chance to win.

"Melissa Paumier, Kendal Lewis and Kate Henley all had real good weekends for us, and Jenny Kirkham had a great tournament as well. Jordan Vincent, Jessica Lamley and Stephanie Carestia also hit the ball real well for us."

Ulbright's father Jon, along with Dick Allesee and Bob Lamley, helped Wyand with the coaching duties throughout most of the summer.

With their appetite whetted, Wyand sees signs that the Wooster players are prepared to take their games to the next level in an effort to contend in the ultra-competitive Federal League.

"Megan and Jess Lamley have committed to going to Grand Slam this winter for a pitching clinic to work with the guy from North Canton Hoover," said Wyand. "On Sundays, all these girls are going to be in a hitting league at Grand Slam, and some of them have plans of playing in a fall league. There's just a lot of enthusiasm right now.

"We'd like to go out and play even more of these things next season, maybe while picking up a few extra players like a pitcher or a catcher. But we'd like to keep the majority of the high school girls together, because that's the only way we're going to build the program. We may not win tournaments, but these girls are going to see better competition and that's what they need to get better."

Area Softball Notes -- The Scorchers, featuring Norwayne's Lindsey Schnedetz and Chippewa's Michelle Congrove and Deb Chmura, finished third Saturday in the NSA "B" 18-under World Series in Florida.

The team, coached by Hillsdale's Ray Dickerhoof and based mostly out of Summit County, went 5-2 in Florida.

"The kids played great, they played great all year," said Dickerhoof, whose team finished 29-12. "Michelle had a great year and at the Nationals hit .475.

"Lindsey's a great bunter, so with Michelle getting on all the time, we had Lindsey batting second and it worked out good."

Chmura, who played for the 16-under Blast team most of the season, was picked up for the Nationals when two Scorcher regulars couldn't go.

"Debbie usually plays third, but we had her in the outfield and she made some great catches," said Dickerhoof. "The kids peaked at the right time. Finishing third in the country is great for these girls."